Britain under pressure to track activities of released Guantanamo prisoner

Britain is under renewed pressure from the United States to track the activities of the final British resident to be released from Guantanamo Bay, as costs to the UK taxpayer spiral to at least £20 million.

The Telegraph understands high-level discussions have taken place between London and Washington over how the British security services will monitor potential threats posed by Shaker Aamer, who flew back to Britain on Friday.

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Hannah Stuart, research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, said: “I can’t imagine the security services are going to allow Shaker Aamer to walk around freely.

“I think he will try to involve himself with Cage [the controversial group which backs Muslim prisoners], and do the rounds on the university speaking circuit.

“He’s a very high-profile figure and poses a risk to national security as an ideologue and a radicaliser.”

The cost of maintaining a round-the-clock guard at the embassy where Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, has been claiming asylum amounted to about £4 million a year – and clandestine surveillance of Mr Aamer would cost an even greater sum.

The Henry Jackson Society is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales under company number 07465741 and a charity registered in England and Wales under registered charity number 1140489.